e. Za neke, umjetnost može biti samo apstrakcija ili gomila linija i boja, dok za druge može biti dubok doživljaj emocija i misli. Bez obzira na naše individualne interpretacije, umjetnost nam omogućava da se povežemo s drugim ljudima i s ljudskim iskustvom na općenitiji način. Ona nas pokreće, potiče na razmišljanje, i nadilazi granice jezika i kulture.
Umjetnost nije samo izražavanje kreativnosti, već ima i snagu da mijenja svijet. Kroz umjetnost, možemo istražiti i preispitati društvene, političke, i emocionalne teme. Može nam pomoći u suočavanju s traumama, potaknuti nas na djelovanje, ili nas jednostavno inspirirati da vidimo svijet na nov način.
Umjetnost je također važna za naš osobni razvoj i dobrobit. Ona nas potiče da budemo kreativni, da istražujemo vlastite misli i osjećaje, i da razvijemo vještine poput promatranja, kritičkog razmišljanja i izražavanja. Studije su pokazale da izlaganje umjetnosti poboljšava naše mentalno zdravlje, smanjuje stres, i povećava osjećaj zadovoljstva i smisla u životu.
Stoga, umjetnost je neizostavan dio naše ljudske egzistencije. Ona nas hrani i nadopunjuje našu dušu, donosi ljepotu i dubinu u naš svakodnevni život. Pažljivo promatrajmo, slušajmo i doživimo umjetnost u svim njenim oblicima, jer ona nam pruža mogućnost da doživimo svijet na potpuno jedinstven način.
It already associates it with its market value, which is linked to the fame and prestige of the author. Everything can be considered beautiful, depending on the lenses through which it is viewed, art can be a tumult of passion and emotions thrown onto canvas or expressed through artistic installations. Such relativization of characteristics is characteristic of our time.
However, if we return to the past and the traditional, so-called classical conception of art, we will see a completely different attitude towards the role and significance of art. Every great culture of the past had its ideals of beauty and its canons.
It is enough to peek into today’s museums full of artworks from ancient cultures that everyone agrees are unsurpassed examples of creativity and exceptional works of unquestionable beauty and value. These works have something that still captivates, amazes, and inspires us today. What is their magic?
Traditional worldview
Eastern and Western cultures, even from completely different Throughout different historical periods, traditional cultures have shared an almost identical attitude towards the place and value of art. This attitude stems from their universal perception of the world: the visible, material world we inhabit is just one aspect of reality, while the other, more real and lasting world is the spiritual realm. These worlds are not separate but deeply intertwined, and the visible world of forms is a reflection and consequence of the spiritual world.
Drawing on ancient tradition, Plato referred to this spiritual world as the world of ideas, the spiritual forms from which material forms are derived. At the top of the hierarchy of ideas is the idea of the Good. According to Plato, it gives essence, existence, and perfection to all ideas. And perfection, according to Plato, is closely connected to the concept of Beauty. Beauty and perfection, as the essential characteristics of the spiritual world, manifest as order, harmonious relationships, and balance between all parts of the Universe, between Heaven and Earth, the large and the small. In other words, harmony as an inherent regularity is the “Harmony, as a harmonious relationship between all parts, is precisely the manifestation of cosmic order. Plotinus opens our eyes when he says that this beauty and harmony are revealed in the world of Nature: … look at the wonderfully diverse art that we find in even the humblest animals, and even plants: the beauty of their fruits and leaves, the delightful splendor of their flowers, gentle and diverse… This beautiful arrangement of the spiritual order arises without rational thinking, but is such that if someone could think perfectly rationally, they would be amazed to see that everything is arranged in such a way that even thinking could not make it different… (Enneads, III. 2)
Plato says that the soul retains the memory of its divine origin, and works of art through images, sounds, and forms can awaken in man the memory of his heavenly roots. External beauty is an expression of the inner beauty, and both share the harmony of order, proportion, and noble measures. Worshiping beauty in something represents worship of the Good and the Truth. Therefore,” In tradition, art had not only aesthetic but also moral and educational value.
Place and role of art
The starry sky and blooming tree are beautiful to both the ancient man and us today. However, what triggers our aesthetic sense? Why is one object more beautiful to us than another? What makes the repetition of motifs or sounds evoke sublime feelings in us or a certain arrangement of elements in a whole create a sense of peace, comfort, satisfaction? These are the questions that ancient philosophers and artists themselves sought to answer in their quest to unravel the mystery of beauty.
Thus, Pythagoras discovered the internal order that governs Nature and can be expressed through mathematics and music, so he called the Universe the work of a celestial mathematician or architect. Building on the foundations of Pythagorean teachings on proportions, the Greeks revived the canons of beauty and harmony in art.
Therefore, art had the role of expressing through visible forms of artistic works. art (architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, poetry, music, etc.), or through their beauty, brings man closer to his spiritual roots. The artist is the one who recreates heavenly forms on earth, reproduces spiritual harmony, and enables the recognition of order and beauty as essential qualities of a spiritually grounded Universe.
Golden Ratio
One of the most famous canons, and according to the majority, the most perfect one, is the golden ratio or golden section, in which the smaller part relates to the larger part as the larger part relates to the whole, creating a dynamic harmony, a sense of movement. The golden ratio is related to the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, as the ratio of two adjacent members of that sequence approaches the golden ratio more and more as we go towards larger numbers.
The golden ratio, also known as the divine ratio, is not just a product of mathematical imagination, it also has aesthetic value. An example of this is the so-called golden rectangle, where the sides are in the golden ratio. The research conducted F. Th. Fecher, and which was later repeated several times, showed that participants consistently chose the golden rectangle as the most beautiful among several rectangles with different aspect ratios.
A true artist does not invent laws, order, rhythm, or harmony; they sense and discover them in Nature. That is precisely why the golden ratio was present in the sacred art of Egypt, India, China, and other ancient civilizations, dominated in Greek art, and was revived in the Renaissance in the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
A whole series of buildings, especially sacred ones, were constructed according to the golden ratio. the golden rectangle is present in both the façade and the floor plan of the temple, as well as in the proportions of its individual parts down to the smallest details. The temple is thus a connection between man and God, based on order and harmony. The Egyptians also used their great knowledge of geometry in the construction of temples. They followed the canons in an attempt to establish harmony between the Universe, the Temple, and Man.
Music
One of the most important artistic forms that refine and harmonize the human being is music. What sets it apart from other arts is its direct and immediate impact and its ability to elevate consciousness.
In the mythologies of all peoples, the creation of the Universe is precisely connected with the primordial sound. It supports order and harmony in the heavens and permeates our world. Thus, everything resonates in the continuous rhythm of life. Traditions therefore considered musical instruments and music itself holy aids through which There was a man who communicated with the gods. Pythagoreans studied the influence of music on humans and paid great attention to the educational element of music, as it can not only enrich but also refine, purify, and enrich the human soul.
For Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friedrich Handel, music was a form of worship; they would mark their scores with the phrase “Soli Deo gloria” (To God alone be the glory).
Through the analysis of some great musical works, the rule of the golden ratio was discovered. The climax of a piece is found at the point where it is divided in the golden ratio. An example of such harmony is Mozart’s music, which is characterized by brightness and serenity. Most of his sonatas were composed according to the golden ratio, or the volume of the tones alternates in a period of thirty seconds, which is equivalent to the fundamental pattern of our brain waves. Mozart once said, “I gather notes together that love each other!”
The Artist
An artist intuits the invisible and inaudible, and through their artistic creations, they bring fragments of heavenly harmony into our world. An artist is not someone who possesses only random inspiration; an artist must establish a connection with the spiritual through imagination, through the skill of insight into nature and its forms that reveal the face of divine intelligence, the skill of seeing pure forms, colors, and sounds, recognizing beauty in harmony. An artist does not create to create something new, but to create something better, something beautiful, something good!
However, an artist must also possess practical knowledge and technical skills that enable control over forms, the discovery of the laws of proportion, rhythm and harmony, the laws of matter. The material that the artist shapes transforms in a natural process. A Tibetan text says: Assist nature and work together with it, and it will accept you as one of its creators and submit to you. It will open the doors of its secret chambers before you… It reveals spiritual treasures only to the eye of the Spirit.
And that is why the true beauty of an artistic work is not only the expression of harmony within its parts. but also the expression of the existence of a similarly beautiful and noble soul that animates it, the soul of an artist. Many true creators confirm that their works are not just theirs, but the result of a divine inspiration that guides them from the beginning of the creation of the work, through obstacles and efforts, to the final completion.
Traditions therefore attached great importance to the education of artists. One example is ancient Mexico, where one did not become an artist by chance, but there had to be evidence that such a person carries the potential for that mission. It was followed by technical education and familiarization with the entire heritage, tradition, and symbols of their people, with the basic idea: how to establish a connection with the heavens, the true, genuine home of mankind. In order to achieve this, the artist needed to master themselves so as not to be tempted to “distort the face of things”, to “create by accident”, or to let their “inner self fall asleep.”
Therefore, there is a close connection between Good and Beauty. A good soul is more receptive to sublime inspiration. That is why Bird concepts are inseparable from aesthetics. And that is what makes a work alive, for thousands and thousands of years. It is what stimulates and inspires other people, bringing light and beauty into their lives, assisting in the awakening of the soul and its return to the sources.